What’s U.P. at Wake?
The Wake Forest University Police Department is an essential part of the WFU community. On the “What’s U.P. at Wake?” podcast, we pull back the curtain for you to get to know more about the faces behind the badges. From our Officer Spotlight to Campus Advisories, we have it all for you on this podcast. Tune in to find out more about these everyday faces that each have stories.
Follow us on Instagram and Twitter @WFUPD. Reach out to us with your thoughts and feedback on upsocial@wfu.edu
Listen to a recent episode below:
Episode 8- Activities and Outreach
The University Police prides itself on outreach programs and making connections with members of the community. On this episode, we spoke to some folks who attended the department’s recent Halloween themed event on the lower quad. People told us about their thoughts on the event, what else they would like to see from UPD and so much more! We also have our Officer Spotlight, where we spoke to Sergeant McClure, who shared some insights from his work as a day shift patrol officer for UP.
This episode was voiced by Marcus Mathis and Mary-Anna Bailey, produced by Vir Gupta and supported by the Wake Forest University Police.
Episode 7- Properties and Evidence
As students make their way back to campus, Wake Forest University Police has partnered with a brand-new application, Wake Safe to keep students safe. To tell us more about the application we caught up with Chief Regina Lawson who told us more about the various features that the application is equipped with. We also spoke to some first-year students to hear their thoughts about UP and what some of their expectations are.
This episode was voiced by Marcus Mathis and Mary-Anna Bailey, produced by Vir Gupta and supported by the Wake Forest University Police.
Episode 6- Getting Familiar With Wake Safe
As students make their way back to campus, Wake Forest University Police has partnered with a brand-new application, Wake Safe to keep students safe. To tell us more about the application we caught up with Chief Regina Lawson who told us more about the various features that the application is equipped with. We also spoke to some first-year students to hear their thoughts about UP and what some of their expectations are.
This episode was voiced by Marcus Mathis and Mary-Anna Bailey, produced by Vir Gupta and supported by the Wake Forest University Police.
Episode 5- Communicating About Commencement
The commencement ceremony for the Class of 2023 is scheduled for Monday, May 15th. And, to give us some insight on the extent to which University Police is involved in planning this event, we caught up with the Chief of WFU PD, Regina Lawson. Chief describes the day as the Wake Forest ‘Super Bowl’ and told us a little how planning begins almost a year in advance. On our Officer Spotlight, we spoke to Mrs. Dennette Lily, a supervisor in the Communications team.
This episode was voiced by Marcus Mathis and Mary-Anna Bailey, produced by Vir Gupta and supported by the Wake Forest University Police.
Episode 4 – Riding Along
Wake Forest University Police as vehicles patrolling the campus 24/7. And, along with conducting routine checks of buildings they also cover all of Wake Forest property always on the look out for anything out of the ordinary.
On this episode of What’s U.P. at Wake? our podcast producer, Vir, rode along with Corporal Schwartz on a Friday evening. He observed some of the things that officers do on patrol and learned more about what a patrol officer’s job entails. In our Officer Spotlight, we caught up with Major Jamie Herring, a UP staff member who supervises the communication and patrol services among many things. He told us about who told us about how he ended up at Wake, gave us insight into some of the inner workings of the department and more.
This episode was voiced by Marcus Mathis and Mary-Anna Bailey, produced by Vir Gupta and supported by the Wake Forest University Police.
Marcus Mathis: You’re listening to what’s up at Wake, a podcast that dives deep into the Wake Forest University Police Department. Welcome to Episode Four riding along.
Maryanna Bailey: University Police have cars out on campus patrolling 24/7. And our Podcast Producer Vir had the opportunity to ride along in one of the patrol cars on a Friday evening, and he spoke to Corporal Schwartz as they drove around the campus.
Corporal Schwartz: My name is Steven Schwartz, and I’m a corporal with the Wake Forest University Police.
Vir Gupta: Just walk me through what you’re doing tonight, and how you usually start around and things like that.
Corporal Schwartz: When we first get to work, we will meet with the day shift. And the day shift will kind of give us a rundown of what they had any information that we need. And then once we get that information, then we’ll just go out and patrol the building checks or check the parking lots
Vir Gupta: When you’re on patrols. I mean, is there a certain route that you take?
Corporal Schwartz: No, we try to switch that up. So we’re not doing the same thing all the time. Let me call out my check real quick. When 24 control, I’ll be doing a patrol lot Z2.
Vir Gupta: Can you tell me what just happened
Corporal Schwartz: I was calling dispatch to let them know that I was doing the patrol of this area. It helps like if we do get a vehicle break in. So if I came by right now 9:15pm. And I haven’t seen anything, but I come back 2 am and we find something then we can narrow down the timeframe. Whatever it would have been would have occurred. Yeah, so there’s three of us working tonight. 124. Go ahead.
Dispatch: 124, respond to the Welcome Center. You meet with Matthew, we’re in the auditorium.
Corporal Schwartz: So he left his laptop in the auditorium at the Welcome Center. So we’ll basically check his ID to make sure that they’re a student or affiliated and let him in to get the property.
Vir Gupta: And is that something you have documented as well?
Corporal Schwartz: Yes. So everything we do, we have daily, and so we fill out everything that we do on the daily. This won’t require a report, like a full written report. But we do have to document that we let them in. And then we have the camera that we have to turn on when we go on a call. And then we can go back and reference, you know, specifics that we need for the report. Our shift is 7pm to 7am. So I’ll normally go to sleep when I get off. Like I get home like 730 ish. And then somewhere between eight and nine and then I’ll usually get up somewhere between four 4:30pm. You know, that part’s kind of rough. You know, because my wife works the day shift. So we’re always criss crossing and we don’t get to see each other a whole lot.
Vir Gupta: So how many days a week do you work?
Corporal Schwartz: So it varies with our schedule. So one week, we’ll work two days. And then the next week, we’ll work five days. So like for example, this week, we work Monday, Tuesday, we’re off Wednesday, Thursday, work Friday, Saturday, Sunday. And then next week, the only days that I will work are Wednesday, Thursday.
Vir Gupta: Do you do your rounds as frequently at like late hours at like four ish, three ish? How do you sort of go about your work at that time of the night?
Corporal Schwartz: It’s kind of the same as before, like we tried to mix it up, but we’re always out and about usually other than when we’re eating lunch, eating lunch and report writing is about the only time.
Vir Gupta: Over the summer then how does that change?
Corporal Schwartz: When the students aren’t here it’s a lot slower. I mean, we’re still doing the same thing but we are call load is not near you know what, what it is when the students are here. Like one of the things that I didn’t realize when I first came here is that there’s actually like a community on campus. That is Winston Salem jurisdiction. So sometimes like if you see a Winston Salem officer driving through campus there’s a good chance that they’re coming down here for something 124 control building check UCC. So they actually have security guards that are in the building. All through the night. The security guards here will go and check 2400 Reynolda, which is on the other side, on Reynolda road.
Vir Gupta: Freshmen just have too much energy, from your word. I assume that that’s where most of the problems come from.
Corporal Schwartz: Oh, freshmen. Every once in a while, Subway will kinda get kind of out of hand, a lot of the kids that have been drinking, they all get in that will get caught up there every once in a while.
Vir Gupta: And how do you sort of intervene?
Corporal Schwartz: Honestly, it just depends on you know, what the call is? A lot of times, it’s just overcrowded. Because there’s so many people. So you know, they’ll lock the doors, and then tell us just to let a certain number of people in. So then we’ll just kind of break it down, kind of watch his people clear out, we’ll let a few more in.
Vir Gupta: Are you stopping? Are you going out for more rounds after this?
Corporal Schwartz: I’m gonna get to speak to that security guard, we just pass and then I’ll be right back out on the map.
Vir Gupta: Thank you so much.
Corporal Schwartz: All right. Yeah.
Maryanna Bailey: You too, can request for a free ride along with university police by heading to police.wfu.edu/services. Now it’s time for our officer spotlight where we get to hear a little more about a member of the University Police. And on this episode, we have an officer who spends most of his time at the UP office in Alumni Hall.
Major Herring: My name is Jamie Herring, and, and the major ever police operation. So I supervise patrolling the people who sit in patrol cars, and then communication. So whenever you call in to the police department here at Wake Forest, then those are the telecommunicators. So I supervise those as well.
Maryanna Bailey: We began by asking major hearing about his journey that led him to take up a job here at Wake Forest, where he’s been for just over a year,
Major Herring: I went to UNCG to undergraduate school, and I work there as a student employee. It’s their equivalent of the deacon student patrol called the Rangers. And I was in the Ranger Program. My whole time, when I graduated, started working for the Greensboro Police Department. And it wasn’t what I was looking for. So I had the opportunity to go back to UNCG as a police officer, and I worked there for 29 years, spending the last seven and a half years as the chief. And then after I retired, I went to Murray State in Murray, Kentucky. And I was the chief there for four years, came back when my grandson was born, and was fortunate enough to find this position at Wake Forest. And I’ve known chief Austin for a long time. And so it was a great opportunity to come in and work with her here.
Maryanna Bailey: Each officer at up plays a specific role. And we wanted to know more about what exactly major herring’s job entails.
Major Herring: Most of my work is administrative. So I do a lot of just putting out fires, taking care of projects, working on policies, making sure that processes we have worked for officers, it could be doing a threat assessment, one part of the day and then teaching something to the officers later in the day new policy analysis looking over our policies to make sure that they’re where they need to be with work on budget things, new systems and equipment that the officers need. So it’s just a variety of administrative duties.
Maryanna Bailey: Major herring supervises, a part of the training for officers. And he elaborated a little more on that
Major Herring: Part of the function that supervises the training for the officers. And so making sure that they get the training they need, know how to use the equipment that we have and know how to interact with people and that kind of thing. So we train for like the worst case scenarios and then just hope that we never have to use them.
Maryanna Bailey: Lastly, we asked Major Herring if he had a message to the community, or if he wanted to share anything about the department, and here’s what he said.
Major Herring: One thing I think is important is the officers that we have here are very experienced, most of them, like me, have over 30 years of experience. Most of them are retired from other agencies. And so we choose to be here because we like the environment where we know that we can put our experience to work to help keep them safe, and I’ve been in this 37 years and a lot of people are just like me they’ve they’ve been in police work for a while and see this as a great opportunity to come in and make a difference more of a difference in individual lives here on campus.
Maryanna Bailey: This week’s campus grounds code is ride. Use this code at the campus grounds coffee shop to earn yourself a free beverage.
Mary-Anna Bailey: As an organization, we recognize the need for long term community and campus violence prevention so that the onus of defending yourself does not fall on you.
Mary-Anna Bailey: And, with the results of an Americans Addiction Center survey that showed one quarter of college women are sexually assaulted during their four years in college with 50% of those attacks having alcohol involved, WFU PD is striving to make our environment safer for everyone. And, if you’re a female identifying student at Wake Forest University, we have a program just for you!
Mary-Anna Bailey: Rape Aggression Defense, better known as RAD, is a half semester course listed as HES 120. This is a one credit pass-fail class where certified instructors teach you physical techniques and crime prevention methods to protect yourself, giving you the confidence to survive an attack if one was to ever occur.
Mary-Anna Bailey: Faculty, staff, and individual group classes are offered upon request and are non accredited. And yes, you can also have a group class with just your friends.
Sign up today by emailing us at rad@wfu.edu or by going to the WFU Health and Science website at hes.wfu.edu.
Mary-Anna Bailey: People of all genders are impacted by sexual assault. And, remember, it is never someone’s fault for being sexually assaulted, regardless of how they responded. For more information about interpersonal violence prevention at Wake Forest you can contact the Office of Wellbeing located in Reynolds Gym.
Mary-Anna Bailey: If you have experienced or are experiencing interpersonal violence including but not limited to sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, or sexual harassment, the Safe Office is available for confidential support at 336-758-5285 or safe@wfu.edu to schedule an appointment.
Marcus Mathis: This episode was produced by Vir Gupta. Additionally voiced by Mariana Bailey and supported by the Wake Forest University Police, make sure to give us a follow and stay tuned for the next episode on your preferred streaming platform. For any thoughts and suggestions on what you want to hear next time. Reach out to us using the information in the show notes. Next time. We’ll be back to check in with Chief Lawson, a new officer spotlight and more. I’m Marcus Mathis, and this was What’s up at Wake
Episode 3 – Learning and Appreciating
Every year, members of the Wake Forest community graduate from the Citizen’s Police Academy. This initiative from WFU PD offers citizens insights into how police officers perform their duties and how the department as a whole serves the community. And, recently, WFU PD hosted the graduation ceremony for the latest group of graduates.
On this episode of What’s U.P. at Wake? we stopped by the graduation ceremony of UP’s Citizen Police Academy and we talked with some of the academy’s graduates present there to hear their thought on the program. In our Officer Spotlight, we caught up with Christian Sides, a security day watch officer who told us about who told us about how he ended up at Wake, what the community here means to him and what’s next for him in the department.
This episode was voiced by Marcus Mathis and Mary-Anna Bailey, produced by Vir Gupta and supported by the Wake Forest University Police.
Marcus Mathis: You’re listening to What’s U.P. at Wake, a podcast that dives deep into the Wake Forest University Police Department. Welcome to episode 3: Learning and Appreciating.
Mary-Anna Bailey: Every year, members of the Wake Forest community graduate from the Citizen’s Police Academy. This initiative from WFU PD offers citizens insights into how police officers perform their duties and how the department as a whole serves the community. And, recently, WFU PD hosted the graduation ceremony for the latest group of graduates.
Mary-Anna Bailey: Similar to most programs from UP, this is open to everyone, including students. Major Stormer, who leads the program, gave us some insight about the CPA and the graduation ceremony we were at.
Major Stormer: Today pretty much was our wrap up for graduation where we recognize our graduates. While all graduates are invited but the reason why you saw additional recognition is because due to covid our classes had to cut off they never got their certificates in person, so we thought this was a good way to recognize them and let them get their graduation where they get to walk across and get their award like everybody else. Doing the program really opens people’s eyes to all the different aspects of our department.
Mary-Anna Bailey: Graduates from the class of 2019 to the class of 2023 were all present there. And we began by asking them who they are and what role they play at Wake Forest.
Stephanie Carter: My name is Dr. Stephanie Carter and I’m the director of Residence Life here on campus.
Travis Manning: My name is Travis Manning. I work in Z. Smith Reynolds Library as the library specialist.
Wende Walker: My name is Wendy Walker, and I am the admin coordinator in the CLASS office, that’s the Center for Learning access and Student Success.
Matt Dantism: My name is Matt Dantism. I’m an associate director in the Wellbeing Center.
Erin Forbes: I’m Erin Forbes. I am an assistant director in the Office of Student Engagement.
Roberta Powell: My name is Roberta Powell and I work in the Financial Aid Office.
Mary-Anna Bailey: We then heard from them about when they graduated, how they first got to know about this initiative and what their experiences with the CPA was like.
Travis Manning: I graduated in 2020 and it was very informative. I learned a lot about at least procedures and policies and how they handle certain situations.
Matt Dantism: So, I’m a graduate of the class of 2023. So my brother is a police officer in Charlotte, Mecklenburg. So, I was like I should do this. It’s always neat to see the inner workings of a department. Particularly a fellow department on campus. Another department within campus life and I was like yeah, sold.
Erin Forbes: So I graduated in the class of 2019 and for me I had an idea of what campus place was but it really exposed me to all the different things that they deal with on a daily basis and how they handle certain situations and just really how complex their daily experience is.
Roberta Powell: I was in the class of Class of 18. What I enjoy most about the academy is getting to know the individual police people. They gave us exposure to the room where they keep all the monitors, the evidence room and a lot of great stories about things that happen around campus that you wouldn’t know.
Mary-Anna Bailey: Not only does the CPA educate people about the inner workings of the department, but it also gives them an opportunity to take some things away from it that they can take back to their day to day. And, looking back, here’s what folks had to say.
Roberta Powell: To me, it is just having an understanding of their side of the world, right, and just understanding that, just, you know, a better appreciation for the law I think for me and it was a personal thing, for why I wanted to do it, and it was worth it, absolutely.
Wende Walker: It was really comprehensive. There are a lot of things that I learned about exactly what the police department does and how we can help them interact with students and faculty and staff. It’s just everyday being aware of what’s going on around campus and in our office and if there are any special alerts just making sure everyone knows about what to do and how to handle situations.
Stephanie Carter: I know I’m so much better now and not afraid to call them or to use them when needed. So, that’s the biggest takeaway from this I think I had.
Mary-Anna Bailey: Now, it’s time for our Officer Spotlight where we get to hear a little more about a member of the University Police.
Mary-Anna Bailey: And, on this episode we have an officer who is a familiar face to many community members. Unlike some of our previous guests, he is someone who hasn’t been at Wake for too long, but loves everything about being here.
Christian Sides: My name is Christian Sides and I am a full-time day watch officer for security. I’ve been doing that for about two and a half years now really enjoy it really enjoy it a lot.
Mary-Anna Bailey: We began by asking Officer Sides what his week usually looks like and how he approaches each day.
Christian Sides: My normal day 8:00 to 4:00 and it’s kind of self-explanatory with day watch you know I just kind of go around campus and Patrol I go to different academic buildings and you know just be a presence and be available for people in case they need anything I get a lot of questions about what buildings are or you know can people Park here it’s really simple stuff but you know I love doing it.
Mary-Anna Bailey: Each person at UP has an interesting story about how they got here, and we wanted to hear about how Officer Sides began at Wake.
Christian Sides: I actually worked at Graylyn for 7 years prior to coming here the only thing that stopped out was covid of course so but covid came around I was out of work with that and then it’s three or four months later I found out that they need help with security for campus because they were doing like 24-hour shifts so they needed coverage and they reached out to people at Graylyn you know who were outside of work I’d always kind of been interested in security so you know I took the offer. And I started at the Best Western hotel right down the street on University they have students sitting over there who was dealing with the virus and everything so basically my job was to kind of just watch the cameras and make sure they were inside their rooms and you know not out and about spreading things and I will help them deliver their food to their doors and any packages they could deliver it and things I would take that up to him and so once that cleared up for me a job here on campus so I took that right up. It was an interesting story about how I got here but I’m glad it happened.
Mary-Anna Bailey: Like many of us, Officer Sides is a huge fan of the sense of community at WFU and he told us a little more about what that meant to him.
Christian Sides: I just like the feeling of community here wait for us and especially my department The Surreal family like you know everybody you see everybody everybody gets along well and I like to use the word Community because it feels like more Community than Society you know what I mean like you can be yourself find your place it’s not like one of those places where you know I mean you have to change who you are I think most people of the people in the department feel the same way.
Mary-Anna Bailey: Giving us some insight into things he enjoys, we asked Officer Sides what his favorite things about the campus and city are.
Christian Sides: Okay so Wake Forest is you know close to me being that I am was born here and Winston Salem and so I grew up going to our basketball games and football games and all that I really enjoyed the sporting events and the city really growing a lot from when I grew up my favorite spots on campus will probably be first and foremost Einstein’s coffee. They have my favorite coffee on campus. Shoutout to them. As you can see I’m a coffee guy so anywhere that’s serving coffee you know that’s probably where you’ll find me and you know it’s just a wonderful Vibe around campus. I really enjoy being here.
Mary-Anna Bailey: After being here for a short period, Officer Sides has a special connection to the campus. And, we were curious to hear about what’s next for him and what he hopes for with his future at Wake.
Christian Sides: Okay it’s funny you ask that so right now you know if you ask around an department you know people might mention me joining the police force and so that’s kind of one of the things I’m teetering on like I said right now I’m day watch security but I’ve been considering taking the next step and joining the actual Wake Forest Police. So that’s one thing I’ll probably be looking forward to this year if that all goes this plan I feel like even though I’ve been here two and a half years I still see a new face every day so I just kind of come to work looking forward to just you know meeting whoever made that day I’m just proud to be a deacon man it’s I’ve never thought I would even be here so to come here and enjoy it and really feel a part of it it’s just a wonderful feeling it’s a wonderful feeling.
Mary-Anna Bailey: This week’s campus ground’s code is ‘Boba Tea.’
Use this code at the campus grounds coffee shop to earn yourself a free beverage.
Mary-Anna Bailey: As an organization, we recognize the need for long term community and campus violence prevention so that the onus of defending yourself does not fall on you.
Mary-Anna Bailey: And, with the results of an Americans Addiction Center survey that showed one quarter of college women are sexually assaulted during their four years in college with 50% of those attacks having alcohol involved, WFU PD is striving to make our environment safer for everyone. And, if you’re a female identifying student at Wake Forest University, we have a program just for you!
Mary-Anna Bailey: Rape Aggression Defense, better known as RAD, is a half semester course listed as HES 120. This is a one credit pass-fail class where certified instructors teach you physical techniques and crime prevention methods to protect yourself, giving you the confidence to survive an attack if one was to ever occur.
Mary-Anna Bailey: Faculty, staff, and individual group classes are offered upon request and are non accredited. And yes, you can also have a group class with just your friends.
Sign up today by emailing us at rad@wfu.edu or by going to the WFU Health and Science website at hes.wfu.edu.
Mary-Anna Bailey: People of all genders are impacted by sexual assault. And, remember, it is never someone’s fault for being sexually assaulted, regardless of how they responded. For more information about interpersonal violence prevention at Wake Forest you can contact the Office of Wellbeing located in Reynolds Gym.
Mary-Anna Bailey: If you have experienced or are experiencing interpersonal violence including but not limited to sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, or sexual harassment, the Safe Office is available for confidential support at 336-758-5285 or safe@wfu.edu to schedule an appointment.
Marcus Mathis: This episode was produced by Vir Gupta, additionally voiced by Mary Anna Bailey and supported by the Wake Forest University Police. Make sure to give us a follow and stay tuned for the next episode on this show on your preferred streaming platform.
Marcus Mathis: For any thoughts and suggestions on what you want to hear next time reach out to us using the information in the show notes. Next time we’ll be back with a special ride-along, a new Officer Spotlight and more. I’m Marcus Mathis and this was What’s U.P. at Wake?
Episode 2 – Reaching Out
Every month, WFUPD does a special outreach program called Pizza with The Police, where the WFU community gets the opportunity to eat at Zicks and hang out with the folks behind the badges.
On this episode of What’s U.P. at Wake, we stopped by Pizza with the Police and talked with the WFU community to gather feedback and find out what they love about WFUPD. We also caught up with Major Derri Stormer, who told us about her day to day and news on what’s happening in the department.
This episode is hosted by history major Marcus Mathis and communication major Mary-Anna Bailey.
Marcus Mathis: You’re listening to What’s UP at Wake, a podcast that dives deep into the Wake Forest University Police Department. Welcome to Episode 2, “Reaching Out.”
Mary-Anna Bailey: Every month, WFUPD does a special outreach program called Pizza with The Police, where the WFU community gets the opportunity to eat at Zicks and hang out with the folks behind the badges. On this latest edition of this program, we went on-ground to speak to some of the many people present there to hear more about their thoughts and reactions to the event. We began by asking them what brought them there and this is how they replied.
Student 1: The free food, honestly; I love some good pizza and when it’s free it’s even better. Pizza is amazing.
Student 2: I always like this event because first of all pizza is amazing. It’s always good too. There is like never a chance to meet police on campus unless you get into trouble. But, this is a great event.
Student 3: We were walking by hanging out with some friends and then the lady came up and gave us a cup and said that there was pizza over here so we came over here to check it out. Yeah, I mean, it worked.
Student 4: Yeah, we’ve heard about it on campus and I thought it was a super cute little event.
Student 5: It’s great community bonding and good pizza.
Mary-Anna Bailey: We wanted to know apart from the great grub what else made them stop by and here’s what people had to say.
Student 1: I like it because it’s just very informal. I feel like my other interactions with campus police have been, like, for them to help me get into a room that I’m locked out of or in my RAD class. So, I feel like it’s just like a casual setting, it’s a lot more fun and you can just get to know them on a personal level.
Student 2: So I think all the police here are kind and are willing to talk to students on a personal level. They’re making sure that we’re safe 24/7 and I just wanted to get to know them better. I can’t know everyone. I just love this to have the opportunity to talk with them. And, I keep coming back.
Student 3: I mean, I think Just like a really social environment where we get to kind of hang out with people who work on campus like other adults who would normally talk to.
Student 5: I guess it’s really nice [because] you don’t get to talk to a lot of officers on campus.
Mary-Anna Bailey: Pizza with the police is one of the many events that UP hosts to bridge the gap between them and the community. And, we thought it was important to know what else these attendees would like to see from the department and the event itself.
Student 1: This event particularly, maybe some more drink options than just water. I don’t know; it’s really awesome so I don’t think they need to change anything.
Student 2: Maybe like I’m thinking, we only do it in Zicks right? Why not do it in Shortys as there are more students down in lower quad because they have classes there. So, it might be a good idea to do stuff there.
Student 3: I feel like maybe more like outreach to people on lower campus Because I didn’t even know this was going on until I came up here.
Student 5: The pizza is awesome and Zicks is a good place for it.
Mary-Anna Bailey: Now, it’s time for our Officer Spotlight where we get to hear a little more about a member of the University Police. And, this week we have an officer who spends most of her time out and about on campus interacting with the community. Although she holds an important role in the force, she really values her time with all the people at Wake.
Major Derri Stormer: Hi, my name is Derri Stormer. I’ve been at Wake Forest for 7 years in January. I’m the major here [working] over the support services division. I’ve been in law enforcement over 21 years. I do a lot of the community engagement. I am over accreditation, Wake Downtown, [and] the RAD program – which stands for rape and defense – our Fleet Services and Technology, Victim Services, and Deacon Student Patrol. I can’t forget my babies.
Mary-Anna Bailey: Now, we asked Major Stormer what she does on a daily basis, and here’s what she had to say.
Major Stormer: I wish I could say I just know exactly what’s going to happen in my day because I’m driven by the calendar. But, amazing, my calendar changes every day. There’s lots of preparations going on right now because of commencement. [There are] some other big events for campus. Because special events and security also fall under me, there’s lots of meetings and things that follow behind it. So, even though people may not be thinking about commencement right now, we’re already planning for it. I have my students I need to be concerned with. Hopefully, you’ve seen the students around; they work at night. That program was developed to, essentially, have a peer-to-peer with students. The students go out and about and let students see that students can work with the police department; it is not a strained relationship. So, my day is usually filled with getting updates from them from the night when I come in. In addition to the meetings already set and also monitoring the RAD class.
Mary-Anna Bailey: Apart from the Deacon Student Patrol, one thing that stood out to us was the Rape and Defense class and we wanted to hear more about what that was all about.
Major Stormer: RAD is a rape and defense class that was developed and Wake Forest was one of the leading ones to make sure it was an academic credit class. So, students can take it and gain one credit; it’s a pass or fail. The one caveat to the class though is that it is for women only; because, the way RAD is developed, it is gender specific. So, there is a RAD for men, it’s just not as popular. Our goal is that every female at the institution gets to take that class at some point in their four years. And we redesigned the program during the COVID years when a lot of things went virtual, and we were able to redesign the class so we didn’t have to cancel it. And, the good thing about it is, even though they didn’t get the opportunity to necessarily do the fight night, they’re always welcome once you complete the class. You can always come back to RAD.
Mary-Anna Bailey: Major Stormer also gave us the inside scoop on a new initiative from WFUPD that we may see soon.
Major Stormer: So, one of my big initiatives that I have coming–so you have breaking news–is a program. I’m trying to partner with various departments like housing, [and] working with the international students. It’s going to be deemed or called a Sip and See with UP. I’ve learned that students really love the boba tea. So, that will be my draw to get them in. And, once I kind of get them in, we’ll tell them about what we offer. We’ll offer alcohol tips, sexual assault information, and just safety in general. Because, I’ve learned as students kind of shy away a little bit when they see police on the flier. So, I’m trying different ways that get us involved so they don’t necessarily see us as police that are working the event, but as part of the event.
Mary-Anna Bailey: Moving on, we wanted to hear about Major Stormer herself and her connection to Wake, and what keeps her going every day.
Major Stormer: Everybody always looks for that great story of “oh my God I just always want to do this…” It’s literally I graduated and I was like ‘I’m going to the academy’. I was actually in Wilmington at the time; [I] came back to Pitt County, because, again, you do things for relationships. I even got hired while I was still in the academy. It was a nice opportunity. I got to see a lot of things in my first apartment. My first day on the job, there was a fatality wreck. The same week a lady gave birth and all the guys were looking at me like ‘what do you do?’ I’m like ‘I never had a kid, I don’t know!’ Going fast forward now I’m married and I have three daughters. So, they kind of motivate me a lot of how I’m still here. The one thing that keeps me going is I love what I do. I really feed off of the students. So, that’s why I kind of stay with campus law enforcement. I made that choice. I feel like campus law enforcement is like a city within a city. There are several schools across the world that, if you took the university away, they wouldn’t have a city. So, it’s like that whole ‘separate but being a part of it at the same time’ is unique and I like that. I enjoy that interaction that you have and just knowing what you can build and then you have people that are constantly switching every 4 years. New people are coming in. You get to see how the generations switch, how they interact with things. I will say that Covid did change our students a little bit. I feel that’s for everyone, where people were stuck in the house and now we are trying to figure out how do we get them out. So, it’s just a unique experience and I like being a part of that.
Mary-Anna Bailey: Major Stormer certainly has a unique connection to the campus, and we asked what her favorite spots on and off campus are.
Major Stormer: So as far as campus, I would definitely say Benson is my favorite building, because I want to be where the students are. I believe that community policing is all about relationships. So, when I go, I always ask permission before entering and then after they get to know me and I’ve hung out enough that I get to a point where I can actually hang out there. That’s my way of learning what the students want. I can have an idea. But it is still my idea. I want to make sure that I am hearing from the students what they like. Like I had no idea about the boba tea that this was something that you were just like ‘oh man if you have boba tea we’re coming.’ If I go off campus, one of the spots that I went to that I love–my kids love me to go there–is Cheesecakes by Alex and Sweet Potatoes is one of the two places people took me. And, I kind of remember that it’s kind of like the whole thing. Downtown is really nice. And, don’t leave out Wake Downtown. Because, even though there’s medical stuff down there it’s a very nice architectural setup there.
Mary-Anna Bailey: Lastly, we asked her if there’s something about the department that she’d like students to know that they aren’t usually aware of.
Major Stormer: I would say definitely that we’re here for you, and, if you need something, please tell us. Students don’t ask for help until it’s like at the last minute critical moment and we’re here to help you. So, if something’s going on and you’re not sure where to go we can definitely point you in the right direction for resources. We’re not just here for when something goes bad. We are here to help you, so, if there’s something going on, something you need, please don’t hesitate to call us. Because, we’ll definitely get you in the right direction.
Mary-Anna Bailey: This week’s campus ground’s code is 4 UP. Use this code at the campus grounds coffee shop to earn yourself a free beverage.
Mary-Anna Bailey: Another way to stay safe here on campus is with Live Safe. Live Safe is a free personal mobile application for Wake Forest University students, staff and faculty to engage in a two-way conversation with Wake Forest University police. With Live Safe you can use your cellphone as a personal security device that allows direct access to police, 911, emergency services, emergency location and sharing information, and the peer-to-peer safe walk tool. Stay safe with Live Safe.
Marcus Mathis: This episode was produced by Vir Gupta, additionally voiced by Mary Anna Bailey and supported by the Wake Forest University Police. Make sure to give us a follow and stay tuned for the next episode on this show on your preferred streaming platform. For any thoughts and suggestions on what you want to hear next time reach out to us using the information in the show notes. Next time we’ll be back with a special ride-along, a new Officer Spotlight and more. I’m Marcus Mathis and this was What’s U.P. at Wake?
Episode 1 – New Beginnings
You’re listening to Wake Forest University Police Department’s What’s U.P. at Wake podcast.
On the first episode of “What’s U.P. at Wake?” hear from Chief Regina Lawson about what led her to want to start a podcast, the story behind this venture, our Officer Spotlight for the week and the latest from what’s happening in the department.
This episode is hosted by history major Marcus Mathis and communication major Mary-Anna Bailey.
Marcus Mathis: You’re listening to What’s U.P. at Wake, a podcast that dives deep into the Wake Forest University Police Department. Welcome to Episode 1, New Beginnings.
Mary-Anna Bailey: A few months ago WFU Police Chief Regina Lawson began thinking about what the general Wake Community thinks of the University Police, one of the hardest working groups on campus whose work largely goes unseen and to give a voice to these hard workers she came up with the idea of starting a podcast. Let’s hear a little bit about how after being here for over 30 years at Wake she decided to start this project.
Chief Lawson: During Covid I got more involved and just personally listening to podcasts of variety of things I found it interesting to try to find things that didn’t relate to work and didn’t relate to my hobbies but just new and interesting things that I would listen to on podcast, and it just occurred to me that this is something that we could do that would enhance Community listeners understanding that there’s a lot of services and programs that we provide that may not ever be aware of so it provides another method for us to share out information about our department, about our people and about our partnerships with people within the campus community and also in the greater Winston-Salem area as well.
Mary-Anna Bailey: There are so many ways for people to connect with up and see how they really are but Chief Lawson had a vision behind why she wanted a podcast.
Chief Lawson: The thing that I really value about working in a higher education environment is that you really have an opportunity to impact people’s lives when they’re really making that transition and if our only job is to respond when the incident occurs it’s too late that’s why so important for us to work with our community proactively to make them aware of precautions they can take make them aware of services and resources that we provide and really help them develop a mindset where they’re good bystanders they’re willing to report and they’re willing to keep our campus community safe.
Mary-Anna Bailey: It’s not easy to get a podcast up and running and Chief Lawson’s idea of starting one was just the beginning.
Chief Lawson: So everything requires funding so I had to do some research and I did reach out to some local Wake Forest contacts and we talked about cost projections we put together a budget for through the campus life budget approval process and then the university approval process. Then kind of felt like all this is it we’re ready to go and then I learned there’s a lot involved with creating a podcast. The money and it magically appears we had to work on developing our program and our content episodes to think about things.
Chief Lawson: That wasn’t it, this podcast isn’t just about the faces at WFUPD but it’s to keep you updated on what’s happening in the community.
Chief Lawson: We want to let our listeners see sounds a little cliche but behind the badge we have multiple identities. You know we’re parents were daughters and siblings we’re sometimes students ourselves. Sometimes, in addition to being able to get to know the people in our department a little better A lot of times when we interact with students and we talk about a particular program or an event so I didn’t know about that so really what we’re trying to do is challenge yourself to get information out there so that everyone will know about that whatever that is.
Mary-Anna Bailey: Now it’s time for our officer Spotlight where we get to hear a little more about an officer from the University Police and who they are as individuals.
Sergeant Smith: My name is Scott Smith University Police Department. I work the Patrol Division and I am over the A squad. I’ve been here since 2012. I started it once in Salem Police Department in 1987 and graduated from the academy in 88 and then I worked for the state from 2000 to 2012 where I retired and came here to work.
Maryannna Bailey: We asked Sergeant Smith what his day-to-day looks like and here’s what he had to say.
Sergeant Smith: Every morning what I do is I check with a night shift supervisor and find out if any events occurred that I might need to be aware of and follow up I assigned to an officer do I speak with him I sit down with the guys and the females that work for me during the daytime and I will go over what the night shift supervisor told me and what’s expected of them throughout the day.
Mary-Anna Bailey: This Podcast isn’t all about the faces of the department and we wanted to hear more about the side of up that most WFU community members don’t see.
Sergeant Smith: One thing to know is that most if not all the officers here are retired from another agency and we’re not here to get them in any trouble we’re here to help them or more of a public service type of institution so it’s almost like we’re a father figure because most of the officers here have students. We want the officers where our kids go to college to treat them like we treat the kids here.
Mary-Anna Bailey: Recently, A community advisory on avoiding car break-ins went out and we wanted to hear straight from up on any particular advice they have on how we can be more careful.
Sergeant Smith: What I would like to say is I know a lot of the students because they have assigned parking and it’s on University property and we do Patrol it every day and night. We have officers out there in the evening and we can’t be everywhere 24/7, but we are out there. Don’t leave your personal belongings in the car because that becomes a crime opportunity if someone walks by and also always lock your doors to your vehicle. Most of our break-ins are vehicles that are unlocked, always be aware of their surroundings and if they go out to always travel and at least pairs just to keep each other safe. Call us if you see something suspicious. Call us as soon as you see it that way we can get out there immediately and find out exactly what’s happening and hopefully if necessary make the arrest or take the appropriate actions.
Mary-Anna Bailey: Sergeant Smith has been at Wake for over ten years now. And, we wanted to know why he likes it so much. And, if there are any particular spots on/off camps that he enjoys the most.
Sergeant Smith: I like the Wake Forest community. From the students to student interns, everybody here such a friendly place to work which is so different than what we’re used to and police work the trees at Manchester Plaza Just A Center on a nice summer day it’s enjoyable to see it’s very quiet and at night to sit at Manchester plaza above Reynolda hall. It’s stunning to see Wait Chapel on the Hearne Plaza side and then what we call freshman row on the Manchester side.
Mary-Anna Bailey: Lastly, we asked him if he has any special takeaways from working the job every day.
Sergeant Smith: Honestly, every day I take away something from this University you know just talking to a student that it might be going through a little bit of a difficulty and by the end of our conversation with their laughing and they feel much better so every little thing is important and they’re all special to me in one way or another.
Mary-Anna Bailey: Another way to stay safe here on campus is with Live Safe. Live Safe is a free personal mobile application for Wake Forest University students, staff and faculty to engage in a two-way conversation with Wake Forest University Police. With Livsafe You can use your cell phone as a personal security device that allows direct access to police 911 emergency services emergency location and sharing information and the peer-to-peer safe walk tool stay safe with Live Safe.
Mary-Anna Bailey: This week’s campus grounds code is 4 UP.
Chief Lawson: So, if you go to campus grounds and you share the code 4 UP, you will get a free beverage from us.
Mary-Anna Bailey: Here are some updates on what’s happening in the next few weeks with Wake Forest University Police join us for pizza with the police on Thursday February 16th between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. and donuts for downloads on Friday February 24th from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Marcus Mathis: This episode was produced by Vir Gupta, additionally voiced by Mary-Anna Bailey and supported by the Wake Forest University Police. Make sure to give us a follow and stay tuned for the next episode on this show on your preferred streaming platform. For any thoughts and suggestions on what you want to hear next time reach out to us using the information in the show notes. Next time we’ll be back with more from Chief Lawson, a new Officer Spotlight and more. I’m Marcus Mathis and this was What’s Up at Wake?